Share

I can’t imagine too many changes from Steve McClaren but I do wonder whether it is in his mind to change things in the middle of the pitch.

Bournemouth’s promotion and wins over West Ham and Sunderland was built on the back of a high energy midfield.

Will Vurnon Anita and Cheick Tiote be up to the job today?

I think McClaren will stick with them but it must be tempting to bring Moussa Sissoko into the middle to give some extra pace and stamina in the centre of midfield.

The Head Coach has been talking up the abilities of both Florian Thauvin and Siem de Jong in advance of the game and with Newcastle crying out for some extra width and crosses into the box for Mitrovic, will the French winger get his chance today…or any time?

With injuries to the likes of Rolando Aarons and Jack Colback, the other options appear limited, Though good to see Kevin Mbabu back fit as both Dummett and Janmaat have had injury issues and at least Newcastle now have cover with the versatile Swiss player on the bench.

Whilst declaring Rob Elliot fit, Steve McClaren did appear to make clear that the third choice keeper isn’t really ‘fit’ but in the circumstances has to play. I would find it no surprise to see him end up not making it today, or at the very least being a knocking bet to be subbed at some time in the game.

You can do the same by following the simple instructions HERE and then there are a number of great options where you can then also share your team via Twitter (include @nufcthemag in your tweet and we will share some of them with our 16k+ followers) , or you can share the selector on Facebook with friends, family and the rest of the black and white world. Alternatively, simply downloading the team image to the device you are using

When using the NUFC team selector you simply click on what team formation (4-3-3, 4-4-2 etc) you want, then click each position on the pitch and choose from the Newcastle United squad.